Whip shaft hammer having turnable head



Oct. 15, 1957 AE. c. LYON WHIP SHAFT HAM/1ER HAVING TURNABLE HEAD Filed N0v. 18, 19,55

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tled tates Patent WHHP SHAFT HAMNIER HAVING TURABLE HEAD Ernest C. Lyon, Zierterson, Iowa Application November 1S, 1955, Serial No. 547,676

3 Claims. (Cl. 145-29) This invention relates to hand tools, and more particularly has reference to a hammer, hatchet, or the like having a resilient handle and a head adapted to be rotatably adjusted upon said handle in such a manner as to result in the handle being maintained as a rigid element when the head is in oneposition, andas a resiliently elastic element when the head is rotatably adjusted to another position.

The desirability of providing, a resilient elasticity in a hammer handle or the like may be readily appreciated, when it is considered that the. imparting of a whipping action to the head-supporting end of the handleresults in the head striking an object, such as a nail, with greater force than is true of a rigidly constituted, conventional handle, assuming the speed of swinging movement imparted to a handle by the user to be the same in both instances. fm important object of the present invention, accordingly, is to provide a whip shaft handle for a harnmer or like tool, such that when the tool is swung for the purpose of driving a nail' or for any other purpose requiring the striking of a blow by the head of the tool, the head, as it approaches the object, will be whipped against the object. Thus, the resiliency of the handle, asserted in the whipping action, is added to the force initially imparted by the user. In this way, it is proposed to permit a nail, for example, to be driven with less force so far as the user is concerned than has hitherto been the case, withrthe blow given the nail being, nevertheless, equal to that which would be transmitted by the exertion of a correspondingly greater force on the part of a user when a conventional, rigid handle is used. Alternatively, it may be stated to be a characteristic of the invention that with the expenditure of the same amount of force as is presently required in swinging of a conventional, rigid handle, a user can do more work.

A further object of the invention is to incorporate in the construction a shaft which is exible only inone. plane passing through its longitudinal center line, so thatr only when the shaft is bodily swung in said plane willit impart its whipping action to the head, the shaft being rigid when swung in a plane normal to the plane in which it resiliently iiexes. The purpose of this arrangement is to permit the inclusion, in coactive relationship to the resiliently flexing handle, of a rotatably adjustable tool head on the handle. The head, when adjusted so as to lie in the plane in which the handle flexes is thus whipped against the object being struck, but when rotatably adjusted 90 degrees from this position is adapted to strike the object without exure of the handle.

It may be noted, in this regard, that the imparting of the characteristic to the tool wherein the head will be whipped only when in one selected position of rotatable adjustment is designed not 4only to` permit the handle to be kept rigid under certain circumstances when an object is being struck, but also is designed to permit the use of the head in extracting nails, and in other situations in which rigidity of the handle is of importance.

parce A further object is to provide a tool of the' nature re'- ferred to which will' be rugged, eicient in operation', and

capable of manufacture at relatively low cost,. due to its relative simplicity.

Other objects. will appear from the following description, the claims appended thereto, and from the annexed drawing, in which like reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views, andV wherein:

Figure l is a top plan view of a hammer formed according tothe present invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view, the dotted lines showing the head as it appears when being whipped` toward the object being driven;

Figure 3 is an endv elevational view of the tool as seen from the left of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is afragmentary longitudinal sectional view on line 4 4 of Figure 3; and

igure 5 is a fragmentary side elevational View in which the head has been rotated degrees from its Figures l and 2 positions, to maintain the handle rigid.

The tool constituting the present invention has been illustrated as a hammer, but it is believed that it can be also used to advantage in other forms, though nding its greatest. adaptability in claw hammer construction.

The tool includes a grip composed of complementary grip sections 10' formed of wood or other rigid material, said sections receiving between them, and being ixedly secured to, one end portion of a shaft or tool handle 1K2. The shaft 12 is formed as a wide, ilat spring member,

resiliently exing in a plane normal to the plane in whichY it lies when in its flat condition shown. in full lines in Figure 2. It will. be noted, in this regard, that the flex.- ure of the shaft will occur mainly at the end thereof remote from the grip 19, since the grip rigidies to a substantial degree the portion of the shaft adjacent the same. A maximum whipping action, thus, is achieved at the end of the shaft carrying the tool head.

The shaft, as shown in Figure 4, is formed at its head-- supporting end with a cylindrical enlargement 14, the axis of which is an extension of the longitudinal centerV line. of the resiliently exing body of the shaft. The enlargement-14, if desired, can be formed as a blockY not integral with the resiliently tensioned shaft, which block would be welded or otherwise iixedly secured to the shaft in a commercial embodiment.

The enlargement 14 is of its greatest diameter immediately adjacent the shaft 12, and intermediate its ends,

is reduced for a substantial part of itslength in diameter, as at 16. Then, the end of the enlargement 14 remote from the shaft 12, a further reduction in the diameter of the enlargement is effected, to provide a cylindrical, axial extension 18.

A tool head has been designated by the reference numeral 26, and in the illustrated embodiment is formed as a claw hammer head, having one end formed as a hammer member Z1 and its other end formed as a forked claw member 23.

Intermediate its ends, the head 2S has a cylindrical bore 22 of a diameter corresponding to that of the inner end portion of the enlargement 14. The enlargement or head support block 14 extends through' the bore 22. Adjacent the end of the bore remote'from the large diameter end block 14, there is formed in the bore a circumferential shoulder 24, and interposed between said shoulder and the shoulder defined between the portion le and the inner end portion of bore 1d is a compression coil spring 26, normally urging the head longitudinally of the shaft in a direction away from the grip 10, against a shoulder formed on a collar or sleeve 28 circumposed about extension 18 and pinned to the extension by means of apin Si).

Communicatingwith the outer end of the bore',.that isi,-

that end remote from the shaft 12, are recesses or slots formed in the head at 90 degree intervals. Engageable in said slots are lugs 32, 3f.- formed upon the collar 2S and extending radially, outwardly from said collar. The slotsreceiving the lugs 32 have been designated by the reference numeral 36, and are diametrically opposed, while the slots of the second pair, receiving lugs 34, have been designated at 3S.

The slots and lugs permit rotatable adjustment of the head between one position in which the head may be said to extend in a plane common to that in which the shaft V12 lies (this position being shown in Figure 5) and a second position in which the head lies in a plane Vnormal to that in which the shaft l2 lies, this position being shown in Figures l, 2, and 4; Y

When the head is in the second position, the lugs 32 of collar 28 will be engaged in the slots 36. When, hov ever, the head is turned 90 degrees, the lugs 32 will be engaged in slots 38, with the lugs 34 in slots 36. To effect a rotatable adjustment of the head, it is merely necessary'that the head be manually forced to the right in Figure 4, that is, in the direction of the grip l, so as to cause the lugs of the collar to move out of the slots or recesses 36, 3S. This frees the head for rotation, and after the head has been turned 90 degrees, the force of the spring 26 is permitted to assert itself to cause the lugs to be once again engaged in the recesses.

In use, and assuming it is desired that the shaft resiliently tiex or whip when a nail is being driven, the head is adjusted to the position shown in Figure 2. Then, when the hammer is swung toward the object, at the top of the upstroke, the head will whip back with the shaft exing to the dotted line position of Figure 2, after which as the head nears the end of its downstroke, the shaft will whip back toward its normal, at condition, increasing the force with which the hammer member Z1 strikes the nail. Thus, the nail is driven with substantial force, without an accompanying expenditure of additional energy so far as the user is concerned.

If, now it is desired to pull a nail, the head is turned 90 degrees so as to now be in a position shown in Figure 5. The head now lies in a plane common to that of the shaft 12, and when the claw member is engaged under the head of the nail and the shaft 12 is rocked upwardly in the usual manner, the shaft will be kept rigid, since it will not flex when swung in its own plane. Further, with the head in this position, the hammer can be used in the manner of a conventional hammer, without resilient Hexure of the shaft, for driving nails. This may be desirable in certain instances in which veryV small nails or tacks are being driven, with the handle only being swung lightly Under these circumstances, aY

through a short stroke. whipping action may be neither necessary nor desirable.

It is believed apparent that the invention is'not necessarily conned to the specific use or uses thereof described above, since it may be utilized for any purpose to which it may be suited. Nor is the invention to be necessarily limited to the specific construction illustrated and described, since such construction is only intended to oeillustrative of the principles of operation and the means presently devised to carry out said principles, it being considered that the invention comprehends any minor change in construction that may be` permitted with-V in the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A hand tool comprising: a resiliently flexible handle adapted to be swung by a user and including a rigidly constituted grip at one end, said handle being formed from a length of flat, wide spring stock whereby to effect a resilient flexure of the handle at the other end thereof,

the handle byreason of its formation from ilat, WideY spring stock being held substantially against exure when the plane of said length is common to that in which the handle is being swung by a user, with said handle being resiliently flexible when the plane of said length is normal to the plane in which the handle is swung, thus to eiect a whipping action at the end of the handle remote from the grip; an enlargement formed upon the resiliently ilexible end of the handle; a hammer head rotatably mounted upon said enlargement, means for adjusting said head between first and second positions angularly spaced 90 degrees apart; said means releasably interengaging the ham. mer head and enlargement in each of the positions of the hammer head and comprising iirst and second pairs of diametrically opposed lugs having a rigid connection to said enlargement, the several lugs being angularly spaced 90 degrees apart about the axis of rotatable adjustment of the hammer head, the hammer head having correspondingly angularly spaced slots receiving the lugs in said rst and second positions of rotatable adjustment of the hammer head.

2. A hand tool comprising: a resiliently flexible handle including a grip at one end, for bodily swinging of the handle through an arcuate path in a rst plane, said handle being formed from a length of dat, wide spring stock, whereby said handle will resiliently flex when the plane of said lengthY is disposed broadside to said iirst plane, and will be held substantially against ilexure when the plane of said length is common to that of said first plane; a cylindrical block on the other end of said handle; a hammer head mounted upon said block, means for rotatably adjusting said head between first and second positions angularly spaced 90 degrees apart, said hammer head in its rst position lying in said rst plane and in its second position lying in a plane angularly spaced 90 degrees from said first plane; a compression coil spring interposed between said hammer head and block and tensioned to bias the hammer head in a direction longitudinally of the shaft away from the grip, said adjusting means including first and second pairs of slots in the hammer head, the slots of each pair being diametrically opposed with the several slots being angularly spaced 9G degrees apart about the axis of rotatable adjustment of the hammer head; and said adjusting means also including at least one pair of diametrically opposed lugs having a rigid connection with the block for engagement in selected slots of the hammer head responsive to rotatable adjustment of the hammer head to the rst and second positions thereof.

3. A hand tool comprising: a resiliently llexible han- Y dle including a grip at one end, for bodily swinging of the handle through an arcuate path in a rst plane, said handle being formed from a length of flat, wide spring stock, whereby said handle will resiliently flex when the plane of said length is disposed broadside to said first plane, and will be held substantially against exure when the plane of said length is common to that of said first plane; a cylindrical block on the other end of said handle; a hammer head mounted upon said block, means for rotatably adjusting said head between first and second positions angularly spaced degrees apart, said hammer head in its first position lying in said first plane and in its second position lying in a plane angularly spaced 90 degrees fromV said rst plane, said hammer head and block having confronting shoulders; a compression coil spring circumposed about the block and abutting at its opposite ends against said shoulders, said spring being tensioned to bias the hammer head in a direction longitudinally of the Vshaft in each position to which the hammer head is rotatably adjusted, said block including an axial extension projecting in a direction away from said grip; a collar ixedly secured to said extension and extending as an abutment in the path of longitudinal movement of the head so as to limit said longitudinal movement of the head under the bias of the spring; and said adjusting means including at least one pair of diametrically opposed lugs formed upon the collar, and rst and second pairs of slots in said hammer head, the slots of each pair being diametrically opposed and the several slots being angularly spaced 9() degrees apart about the axis of rotatable adjustment of the 5 head, for engagement of the lugs in a selected pair of slots 586,323 responsive to rotatable adjustment of the head to its rst 2,337,440 land second positions respectively. 2,435,225

References Cited in the le of this patent 5 UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,075 94,123

155,387 Ripley sept. 29, 1874 6 Sternkopf July 13, 1897 Arrowood Dec. 21, 1943 Kolodner et a1 Feb. 3, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Mar. 31, 1904 Sweden Jan. 9, 1939 

